Trendsettres Notebook: Wait 'til Next Year

[Trendsetters]

By Peter Barroquere.pbarroquere@timespicayune.com

NEW ORLEANS, LA-
The 2038 season kicked off in Florida this year and there were no real surprises. In a season in which GM, Chuck Valenches has begun to strip the paint off the Trendsetters, nobody was expecting a 6-0 start and the Trendies did not disappoint. A 2-4 start with the Trendsetters droping 2 of 3 at Florida then dropping 2 of 3 to the Hitmen, a series which saw New Orleans win their home opener 5-1 behind seven scoreless innings from Raul Munoz in his debut as a starter. That bright spot was quickly extinguished the next thanks to a thorough 13-1 drubbing. The rotation is settling in with Nathan Gallard putting up a solid effort in his second start of the year after getting chased in the third inning of his Opening Day start. Joe Arnold had a stellar debut in a Trendsetter's uni with 6.1 innings of one-run ball for the win.

The bullpen saw solid efforts from their younger pitchers, but some of the veterans have given manager Alfredo Vega cause for concern. Dean McNeil, the 39-year old, on a one year $5,000,000 deal has been lit up in both appearances and the Trendsetters have to wonder if it might be better just to eat the remainder and give somebody else a chance.

The lineup, as expected, is struggling aside from the lone bright spot, RF Bob Dodson, who went 9-for-18 with two homers for the first two series. Ron King hit a solid .300 in a platoon role and other than that no regular hit above .250 with Albers Bognacion, Tierno, Moreno and Doss all below the Mendoza line. In his state of the Trendsetters press conference on opening day, Valenches stated, “This may not even be a rebuilding year, this will be more of a strip the pain year. We expect to garner some good prospects in the draft this year with two extra third round picks and we will be looking to acquire more draft capital as the season wears on. Through the draft and through judicious trades we are aiming to start getting that talent up to the big leagues in two to four years. We hope our fans will be able to see the development of what we believe will be exciting new, young, talent and will enjoy the growth of this organization.”